Health & Wellbeing

The NHS is rolls out free eyesight, hearing and dental checks for children at residential special schools.

World Mental Health Day is celebrated on the 10 October every year and is an opportunity for us all to come together and talk about mental health. 

Smokers are being encouraged to try and stub out their cigarettes this Stoptober – and quit smoking for good.

The annual Stoptober campaign is calling on smokers in Wolverhampton to join the millions of people across England who have made a quit attempt since Stoptober launched over a decade ago. This year’s 28-day Stoptober campaign began yesterday (Tuesday 1 October, 2024), with research showing that people who can stop smoking for four weeks are five times more likely to stay smoke free for good.

John Denley, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Director of Public Health, said: “Stopping smoking is the best thing you can do for your health and the health of those around you, on both a short-term and long-term basis.

“When you stop smoking, good things start to happen — you can begin to see almost immediate improvements to your health. So this October, join the thousands of smokers committing to quitting.

“Stop smoking for 28 days and you're five times more likely to give up for good. It's much easier to stop smoking when you get the right support and there are lots of options to choose from.”

Stoptober offers a range of free quitting tools including the free NHS Quit Smoking app, available from the App Store and Google Play, which allows you to track your progress, get daily support and see how much money you are saving. There is a Quit Smoking Support Group on Facebook, or you can sign up for daily email support.

People can also 'Swap to Stop' by taking advantage of free vaping kits and behavioural support on offer to help them quit. The council is making kits available at a range of community venues, including the city's Family Hubs, WV Active leisure centres and selected libraries.

The service will be delivered by trained members of staff, who will offer free vape starter kits alongside support and weekly 'check-in' sessions delivered from the convenience of local community venues to help people on their quitting journey over a period of 12 weeks. The new service was officially launched last week.

Meanwhile, a new healthy lifestyles service, Live Well Wolverhampton, is also being launched, offering people information, advice, guidance, self-help tools and lifestyle interventions to enable them to make and maintain positive lifestyle choices. Initially, the service is being trialled on a small scale, providing support to help people quit smoking, while an adult weight management scheme is also expected to be launched in near the future.  

Former England and Gloucestershire fast bowler David ‘Syd’ Lawrence has said that he is not afraid of dying and is "up for the fight" after being diagnosed with MND (Motor Neurone Disease).

Smokers in Wolverhampton are being encouraged to 'Swap to Stop' and take advantage of free vaping kits and behavioural support on offer to help them quit.

BBC Garden Rescue presenter, Chris Hull, is backing a new national initiative to encourage more people in the region to rethink their preconceptions and stigma towards people severely affected by mental illness, as a new poll reveals a third of all adults living in the West Midlands (33%) would not be comfortable sharing a diagnosis of severe mental illness with a friend.

With this September being World Alzheimer’s Month, Bluebird Care is bringing its Virtual Dementia Tour to Dublin.

More than 100 people took the opportunity to get their health checked when the Black Country Cancer Bus came to Wolverhampton earlier this month.

A new £750m hospital which will open in the coming weeks "is brilliant", staff have said after touring the facility.

A new healthy lifestyles service is being launched in Wolverhampton.

In celebration of National Fitness Day on Wednesday, 18th September, Leisure Lifestyle have announced a full day of activities, special offers, and community events at their sites across Caerphilly County Borough and they are inviting people to join them for a day of fitness and fun.

Every 14 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with blood cancer, so, this September, as part of Blood Cancer Awareness Month, people are encouraged to join the nation and take on the Your14 challenge. 

National running events like the London Marathon and Great North Run inspire thousands of armchair viewers to get healthy, according to new figures just released by the NHS.

A new virtual cycling challenge is calling on people from the Midlands to sign up to Pedal for Progress, to raise funds for leading charity Diabetes UK and support everyone living with and affected by diabetes.

Residents are being invited to come along and find out about cancer services when the Black Country Integrated Care System cancer bus calls at Queen Square, Wolverhampton, next Wednesday (11 September 2024).

The University of Wolverhampton is hosting a national networking event bringing together advanced manufacturing techniques and clinical expertise to improve patient safety outcomes.